[Cadenza]

After an uncharacteristic period of inactivity from the end of 2008 through the first couple months of 2009 (previously the label had been issuing new releases about every six weeks like clockwork), Cadenza took the unusual step of putting out five releases basically on top of each other. On one hand, the approach makes a big splash in the marketplace and keeps the label’s name in the headlines a bit longer and more prominently than it might otherwise be. On the other hand, the glut of releases tends to dull the impact of the music as the already fairly uniform Cadenza sound can’t help but get repetitive in such large doses.

This is somewhat of a shame, because while the quintet of releases definitely contained some rote, Cadenza-by-numbers material, Ernesto Ferreyra’s debut EP for the label really shines. Available as a two-track vinyl single or, in another Cadenza first, a four-track download exclusively from Beatport, Ferreyra breathes new life into the label’s formula, fitting seamlessly into the roster while showing some funky new moves of his own. “Hunted”‘s sticky shuffle engages some dub techno-style deep chords and mixing techniques in its percussive attack, while the vinyl flipside “Caleza” pops with polyrhythms that echo around as if being pounded out on a massive log at some cosmic luau. The peak, however, comes with the digital exclusive “Copina,” a ten-minute monster building up from a percussive base to a shimmering-star melody beat out on what sounds like a delayed marimba, only to get more jacking and intense as it goes. This whole minimal-with-ethnic-percussion thing has become Cadenza’s calling card over the years, but Ferreyra proves that there is much life in the style still to be unearthed.